Archiv für den Monat: Juni 2015

Ty Boomershine, born in the USA in 1968, studied dance at the Fort Hayes School for the Performing Arts in Columbus, Ohio, completing his studies with a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.

In addition to dancing with various companies (including the Lucinda Childs Dance Company, Emio Greco | PC, the Merce Cunningham Repertory Emsemble, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Leine Roebana Dance, Dance Works Rotterdam and ICKamsterdam), he has also performed in various works by individual choreographers, e.g. Dan Wagoner, Gus Solomons Jr., Ton Simons and Giulia Mureddu. He was involved – as rehearsal manager and dancer – in the Field Dances in Robert Wilson’s opera Einstein on the Beach. Since 2007, he has been Artistic Assistant for Lucinda Childs. He was also tour manager for Pere Faura and Nicole Beutler. He has been presenting his own choreographic works since 1993.

Teaching ExperienceHe taught the technique he learned with Merce Cunningham at different international academies and universities, and festivals, i. e. at University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Project Sally, University of Chichester, University of Michigan, Amsterdamse Hoogeschool voor de Kunsten, Codarts, Rotterdamse Dansacademie, Henny Jurriens Stichting, CODA Festival (Oslo) und New York University/Tisch School of the Arts.

Rehearsal and (Re-)StagingInitiated the collaboration between Nicole Beutler and Lucinda Childs. Taught, rehearsed and maintained two early works (1977, 1978) of Lucinda Childs that were interpreted and re-staged as part of the cover festival 2 in Amsterdam

2007; 2010 Introdans, Arnhem, NL; Responsible for the teaching, setting and maintenance of Lucinda Childs works on the company

‚Field Dances’ in Robert Wilsons Oper „Einstein on the Beach“

Interview with Ty Boomershine

Boomershine. The name grabs your attention like the man himself: tall and lanky with reddish-blond beard and an eccentric dress sense – with a modern, British flavour. For a long time, Ty considered his name to be very normal, as there are many Boomershines in his hometown. It was only when he left Ohio and everyone kept saying, “What? Boomershine?” that he saw things differently. According to his family’s genealogical research, it’s originally a German name from Hesse. Much of this inheritance has been lost, apart from the obligatory sauerkraut on New Year’s Eve, which is meant to bring luck. Ty started dancing when he was young. He lost interest but took it up again at 16.

At 21, he began to dance professionally. At the time he couldn’t think in terms of dance career and international travel: coming from modest circumstances, as a young dancer he was far more concerned about whether he would end up half-starved and homeless. But it all turned out quite differently. Merce Cunningham, Lucinda Childs, Emio Greco, Bill T. Jones – Ty is very grateful for having worked for and with some very famous and important modern-dance choreographers, not because of their prominence, but because they either are, or were, singular artists with clear ideas about their work, and the creators of unique works. Ty wanted to be a Cunningham dancer or a Childs dancer rather than a dancer searching for himself, for his own movement vocabulary.

“I always felt particularly myself when I danced other people’s pieces, and in this sense I really am a ‘dancer’.”

Seven years ago, Ty considered stopping. He was 40 and wondered if it wasn’t the time to start something new, go back to university, maybe. Ironically it was during this phase that Lucinda Childs called and asked him to return to work with her. He says he’s sometimes amazed he’s still dancing – but not because of his age, as that doesn’t interest him at all. In fact he displaces it, not by denying it but by simply forgetting it. Others bring it up, for example young dancers and their unspoken question, in class or an audition: “What’s he doing here?” This is why Ty immediately deleted the email introducing the DANCE ON project to him. A company for dancers aged 40+? What’s the point of that? A month later, a friend sent him the offer again.

“I thought, ‘Oh God, not again,’ but this time I read the email all the way through and thought, ‘Actually, it sounds quite interesting.’”

Ty wasn’t looking for a job, but he applied – with great reservation. He was impressed by the audition. He liked the people and what he was asked to do. The role age played was clear to him. He met experienced, mature artists and they behaved differently. Everyone was relaxed, no one was visibly nervous and no one was stressed or wanted the job at any price. There was competition, but the way people handled it was different, more along the lines of “I’ll show you what I can do, it’s the best I can do, and I trust that everyone appreciates that”. Everyone was understanding and respectful of each other. It was immediately clear in the audition that

“it’s not about what I can (still) do physically, or what I could do at 21. If the truth be known, I’m better today than before,”

says Ty, laughing. He likes to laugh. At the end of 2015, after a week of working with the ensemble in Berlin, he notes that everyone is very disciplined and sets very high demands on themselves. No one in the DANCE ON ENSEMBLE rests on their laurels. Ty believes this has something to do with age and maturity. For Ty, the project he initially didn’t take seriously has turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to experience something new. Dance on! He just finds it a shame that there can only be six dancers involved.

Irmela Kästner, Hamburg, independent critic: “Christopher Roman/Dance On in Man Made by Jan Martens and in 7 Dialogues by Matteo Fargion – a limitless spectrum of dance, playfulness and embodied thinking.”

For DANCE ON EXTENDED, the ensemble has travelled to Sweden to take part in a residency with choreographer Johannes Wieland and three dancers from Compagnie Jus de la Vie / Age on Stage. Together they are creating a new piece: show to be true (working title), which premieres in Piteå on 22nd September 2017 as part of a triple bill.

Working with members of the DANCE ON ENSEMBLE and the Berlin choreographer Martin Nachbar, dance movement material will be developed in an open exchange and creative teamwork format that will be shown in a small presentation at the Schloss Bröllin art research location on 6 July.

DANCE ON, an initiative by DIEHL+RITTER, focuses on the artistic excellence of dancers aged 40+ whose experience, charisma and dramatic power – in fact their entire dance life – is present on stage. Working with internationally renowned choreographers and directors, the DANCE ON ENSEMBLE will be creating its own repertoire and changing the usual image of dance: a challenge for everyone, including the public. The project will also provide sociopolitical impulses. There are plans for participation formats for older people as well as a research programme dedicated to the largely undeveloped topic of „dance and age“.> more